Method of and machine for making shoes



NOV. 24, 1936. v 5 um-:5 2,061,700

METHOD OF AND MACHINE FOR MAKING SHOES Filed 0st. 5. 1935 Patented Nov.24, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE METHOD OF AND MACHINE FOR MAKINGSHOES Application October 3, 1935, Serial No. 43,349

12 Claims.

This invention pertains to shoe manufacture, and relates morespecifically to an improved method of and apparatus for use inpreshaping parts of a shoe upper, for example, the heel pertion of thequarter lining, preparatory to lasting, the present inventionconstituting an improve ment upon that described in the copendingapplication of Benjamin S. Steiner, Serial No. 751,173, filed November2, 1934.

In said application it is pointed out that by reason of the fact thatthe rear or heel end of a shoe last is of convex curvature, whereas thequarter lining is cut from substantially fiat or sheet-like materials,such as cloth or leather, it

has customarily been necessary to apply a very severe stretching stressto the rear end of the upper in order to conform the lining material tothe last, and that even though great care be used in the lastingoperation, the lining does not always lie snugly against the innersurface of the counter and tends during use to wrinkle and sag. In theaforesaid application there is disclosed a novel method of preparing anupper in readiness for lasting, which includes the step of preshapingthe heel end of the quarter lining prior to assembling the latter withother parts of the upper, such preshaping being accomplished by sostretching the material of the lining as to produce a large permanentdimple or concavity in the inner face of the lining, so that the latterapproximates the curvature of the rear end of the last. Said applicationalso discloses apparatus designed for use in the practice of suchmethod.

The apparatus so disclosed comprises a die support carrying a die,including a bottom member, and spaced relatively yieldable side plates,said bottom member and side plates collectively defining a die cavityinto which the lining material is thrust by a reciprocating plunger,while the material is held taut and spanning the die cavity. In thedevice of said application the die cavity is relatively shallow so thatthe lining material bottoms on the floor of the cavity during theadvance of the plunger, and to avoid breakage of parts the die supportwas arranged to yield in response to excess pressure, although suchability to yield lessens the effectiveness of the applied stretchingforce necessary for deforming the lining.

Further, in order to hold the work in position, the device of the priorapplication includes work supports and presser feet designed to engagethe material at spaced points at opposite sides respectively of the diecavity, but the opposing faces of the work supporting members andpresser feet were substantially fiat and uniformly spaced apart.However, in accordance with certain modes of preparing quarter linings,the lining is made in two parts with a seam disposed at one 5 side ofthe center or heel portion of the lining, and if such unsymmetricallydisposed seam be placed between the work support and presser member atone side of the die cavity, the Work is more firmly gripped at thisabnormally thick 10 point than at the opposite side, with consequenttendency for the work to slip out of proper registering relation to theadvancing plunger.

In the aforesaid application the apparatus is disclosed as provided withheating means for 15 heating die to assist in setting the material, butsince the material is in contact with the die surfaces but a very shorttime, such heating of the die has not been found sufficient in all casesto produce the desired permanent set in the ma- 20 terial.

In accordance with the present invention, the above difficulties areovercome and the operation of the machine is improved and made morecertain, and the work produced more perfect and uniform. Furthermore, bythe employment of a work support such as hereinafter more fullydescribed, in accordance with the present invention, and by preshapingthe heel end of the counter lining as suggested, it is possible to makea two part lining with a straight .seam joining the parts, whereas ithas previously been customary to fit the parts along a curved line atthe seam in order to conform the lining with any degree of closeness tothe rear of the last.

In the accompanying drawing, wherein a desirable embodiment of theinvention is illustrated by way of example,

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary vertical section, partly in side elevation andpartly broken away, showing the present improvement applied to a machineof the type disclosed in the aforementioned copending application, themachine being shown with the plunger at the upper limit of its stroke;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary front elevation of the machine also showing theplunger at the upper limit of its stroke;

Fig, 3 is a fragmentary vertical section substantially at the transversemid-plane of the die cavity, showing the plunger as fully advanced intothe die cavity;

Fig. 4 is a bottom plan view of one of the improved work supportingmembers; and

Fig. 5 is a plan view of a laterally seamed quarter lining as it appearsstretched.

Referring to the drawing, the numeral I designates a portion of theframe of the machine, said frame including the projecting die-supportingbracket member 2, and a second bracket 3 overhanging the bracket 2 anddesigned to provide guiding means for the plunger which cooperates withthe die. The bracket 2 is provided with a boss having therein a verticalbore 4 (Fig. 1) which receives the sliding stem 5 of a verticallymovable die-head 6. This stem 5 rests upon a rigid, normally fixedsupporting screw 1, the latter having screw-threaded enbefore beinggagement with a part of the bracket 2 andbeing provided with a knurledhead 8, by means of which it may be turned to adjust the verticalposition of the stem 5. A lock nut 9 is provided for holding the partsin adjusted position.

The die-head 6 is furnished with a pin Ill projecting downwardly througha suitable opening in a part of the bracket 2, thereby to prevent thedie-head 6 from turning about the axis of its stem 5. Preferably thedie-head 6 is furnished with a cavity for the reception of a heatingelement II, such for example as an electrical heating coil supplied withcurrent through a flexible conductor I2.

The upper part of the die-head 6 is shaped to provide the central member13 (Fig. 3) of the die assemblage. This member I3 is provided in itsupper surface with a depression or recess I4 which, as shown in Fig. l,is preferably of substantially trapezium form. This recess extendslaterally across the entire thickness of the part l3 so that it is openat its opposite sides. The die assemblage also comprises plate-likemembers l5 and I5 (Fig. 3) which constitute the side walls for thisrecess. The members l5 and I6 are arranged to slide laterally, each on apair of pins I1 and I8, respectively, secured to the central die memberl3 forwardly and rearwardly respectively of the cavity l4. These pins I1and I8 are furnished with adjustable nuts I9 and (Fig. 2) at their outerends and are encircled by coiled springs 2| and 22, respectively, whichresiliently urge the plates l5 and I6 toward the central member II! ofthe die assemblage. Preferably the inner surfaces of the plates l5 andI6 are recessed as shown at 23 and 24 (Fig. 3) respectively, so that thedie cavity is somewhat wider than the thickness of the central memberl3, although such recesses in plates I5 and I6 are not necessary to thepractice of the invention.

The bracket 2 supports a pair of laterally spaced upright members 25 and25 (Fig. 2), respectively, disposed at opposite sides of the dieassemblage, and these members in turn support a work table 26 having anopening at its center into which the upper parts of the plates l5 and I6project (Fig. 3). This table 26 carries a pair of work supporting plates21 and 28, respectively. These plates are attached to the table in anydesired manner, and preferably have knurled or corrugated upper surfaces29 (Fig. 4), thereby to obtain a firm grip on the work. Preferably thework supporting plates 21 and 28 are furnished with shallow channels orgrooves 30 in their knurled surfaces for the reception of abnormallythick portions of the work, as hereinafter more fully described.

2. In combination in a machine for preforming a laterally seamed shoelining part, said machine These presser feet may, if desired, haveknurled under surfaces, although this is not necessary, the undersurfaces of these presser feet being normally substantially parallel tothe upper surfaces of the work supporting plates, and adapted to gripthe work between them and such supporting plates. The presser feet 3iand 32 are secured to the lower ends of vertically slidable rods 33 and34, respectively, aranged to slide vertically in bores in verticallyelongate bosses 35 and 36 carried by the plunger supporting head 31. Ihefront faces of the rods are slabbed off or flattened and engaged by theends of setscrews 33 and 34*, respectively, which prevent the rods andpresser feet from turning. Coiled springs 38 and 39 encircle the rods 33and 34, respectively, and determine the degree of pressure to be exertedby the presser feet as the plunger supporting member 31 movesdownwardly. The tension of the springs 38 and 33 may be varied by meansof adjusting nuts 40 and 4| at the upper ends of the rods 33 and 34.

The plunger supporting member 31 is secured to a vertically sliding stem42 which is arranged to slide in a vertical bore in a boss 43 carried bythe bracket 3, and the plunger 42 is caused to move up and down by meansof a lever arm 44 to which the plunger is connected by means of a link45. The arm 44 may be actuated in any suitable manner and by anysuitable mechanism, thereby to cause the plunger supporting member 3! torise and fall, one mechanism suitable for the purpose being disclosed inthe aforesaid application of Benjamin S. Steiner, but so far as thepresent invention is concerned, the precise means for moving the plungeris immaterial.

The plunger support 31 has a part 46 which carries the plunger assemblywhich is secured, preferably removably, to the member 31 in any desiredmanner, and which comprises the part 41 having therein a cavity for thereception of a heating element 48, such as an electrical coil, to whichcurrent is supplied by the flexible conductor 49. To the part 41 issecured the plunger 50, which cooperates with the die cavity in shapingthe work. This plunger (in side elevation, as shown in Fig. l) is of acontour more or less similar to that of the die cavity, while in itsfront elevation it is of a contour such as illustrated in Fig. 3, havinga smoothly rounded lower surface, and preferably being of a maximumwidth substantially equalling the normal minimum width of the diecavity.

In Fig. 5 there is illustrated at L a shoe quarter lining comprising theparts 5| and 52 united by a seam at 53. When such a quarter lining is tobe preshaped prior to lasting, in accordance with the present method andby the present apparatus, it is disposed upon the work supportingmembers 21 and 28 so that its central portion is symmetrical withrespect to the die cavity, the location of the die cavity when thelining is properly positioned being indicated by the broken lines at 54in Fig. 5. The abnormally thick portion of the lining member produced bythe overlapping of the parts 5| and 52 at the location of the seam 53 isreceived in the channel 30 of the work supporting member 28, so that itdoes not interfere with the proper gripping of the work between saidwork supporting member and the corresponding presser foot 32. Both ofthe work supports 21 and 23 are preferably provided with channels 30 inorder to facilitate the manipulation of right and left linings.

After the material has been placed upon the work supporting members asjust described, and assuming that the die assemblage and the plungerassemblage have both been heated to the desired temperature, the plungeris now moved down so as to advance into the die cavity, therebystretching the work where the latter spans the upper part of the diecavity, pushing the work down into the die cavity, as indicated in Fig.3. If desired, the plunger may be caused to dwell for an appreciabletime while within the cavity, so as to impart a permanent set to thematerial through the cooperative action of the heated plunger and die.Since the side walls I5 and I6 of the die cavity are free to move awayfrom each other as the plunger descends, there is no danger of cuttingthe work when the latter is forced down into the die cavity, the cavityaccommodating itself to the thickness of the material so that the latteris not abnormally strained, abraded or broken.

In the present arrangement it will be noted that, at its lower limit ofmovement, the plunger does not bottom against the floor of the diecavity, so that there is no danger of injury to the parts by contact ofthe plunger and die, and thus it is not necessary to mount the dieassemblage to yield downwardly. As the plunger forces the material downinto the cavity in the unyielding die, the full action of the plunger isavailable for stretching the material, and more uniform results areattainable than when the die is capable of yielding away from theplunger. However, by adjusting the rigid supporting screw 1, the initialposition of the die with respect to the plunger may be varied and thusthe degree of stretch imparted to the material may be predetermined.

Since the work is in intimate contact with the die much longer than andthroughout a greater extent than with the die surfaces, the heating ofthe plunger is much more effective in setting the material than when thedie alone is heated. It is contemplated that only the plunger need beheated for efiective results, although it is preferred, as hereindisclosed, to heat both the die and the plunger.

In accordance with the present invention it is possible to dispense withthe troublesome step, previously deemed essential, of cutting theseveral linings so as to have curved edges and then carefully assemblingthem and uniting them to produce a concave effect. By the present methodit is possible to cut the parts with straight edges and sew themtogether with a plain fiat seam, depending wholly upon the subsequentstretching of the parts in accordance with the present pro-- cedure asabove described, to impart the desired concavity at the rear of thelining. This simplifies the operation, makes it less expensive, andmakes it possible to obtain more uniform results than in accordance withprevious practice.

I claim:

1. A machine for preforming a laterally seamed shoe lining partcomprising a die having a cavity therein, a supporting surface at eachside of the cavity upon which the lining material may be disposed, oneat least of said surfaces having a channel for the reception of thelaterally disposed seam of the lining, presser feet cooperable with thework supporting surfaces to hold the lining in taut condition spanningthe cavity, and a movable plunger operative to force the lining materialinto the cavity.

2. In combination in a machine for preforming a laterally seamed shoelining part, said machine comprising a die having an elongate cavitytherein, a plunger operative to press the lining part into said cavitythereby to bulge the lining part, work supporting surfaces at each sideof the cavity, each supporting surface having a curved channel thereinfor the reception of a lateral scam in the lining, clamping meansoperative to clamp the lining against the respective supportingsurfaces, and plunger actuating means operative to advance the plungerinto the die cavity.

3. In combination in a machine for preshaping a shoe lining part, saidmachine comprising a die having yieldable walls defining a cavitybetween them, a plunger operative to force the lining material into thecavity between said walls thereby to bulge the lining material, of meansfor heating the plunger, means operative to grip the lining at pointsoutside of and at opposite sides respectively of the die cavity and tohold it in taut condition spanning the cavity, and means to advance theplunger into the cavity.

4. In combination in a machine for preshaping the quarter lining of ashoe, said machine comprising a substantially unyielding supportcarrying a die having spaced relatively yieldable walls defining acavity between them, of means operative to grip the lining at spacedpoints outside of and at opposite sides respectively of the cavity andto hold it in taut condition spanning the cavity, a plunger for pressingthe lining material into the die cavity, the plunger being of a widthsubstantially equal to the normal width of the cavity, means for heatingthe plunger and die, and means for advancing the plunger into the cavitythereby to force the lining material into the latter.

5. In combination in a machine for preshaping sheet material, saidmachine comprising a die including a central member having a recesstherein, a substantially unyielding but adjustable support for the die,plates disposed respectively at opposite sides of the central member andconstituting spaced side walls for the recess thereby defining a diecavity, of work gripping means at opposite sides of the recess operativeto grip the sheet material and hold it taut spanning the recess, springsurging the respective plates toward the central die member, a plungermovable into and out of the cavity, the plunger having a roundedadvancing end, means for heating the plunger, and plunger actuatingmeans operative to advance the plunger into the die cavity.

6. In combination in a machine for preshaping the heel end of thequarter lining of a shoe, said machine comprising a die having a centralmember provided with substantially parallel sides and with a recess ofsubstantially trapezium shape in its edge, a pair of side platesnormally disposed in contact with the parallel sides respectively ofsaid central member, springs normally urging the respective side platestoward the central member, said side plates forming relatively yieldableside walls for the recess, of gripping means operative to hold thelining in taut condition spanning the recess, a plunger movable into andout of the recess, the plunger being of such width and contour as to fitsnugly within the recess when the latter is of normal width, means formoving the plunger into the recess to a limited extent such that it cannot engage the bottom of the recess, and substantially un yielding meanssupporting the die.

7. A machine for preshaping the heel end of the quarter lining of ashoe, said machine comprising a die having a central member providedwith a recess of substantially trapezium contour, a pair of side membersdisposed respectively at opposite sides of the central member, said sidemembers having recessed surfaces constituting side walls for the recessin the central member and cooperating with the latter to form a diecavity, a plunger of a width substantially equal to the normal width ofthe die cavity, an adjustable, substantially unyielding support for thedie, and plunger actuating means operative to advance the plunger intothe recess, the advance movement of the plunger being insufficient tocause it to engage the bottom of the recess.

8. In combination in a machine for preshaping the heel end of thequarter lining of a shoe, said machine comprising a normally fixed butvertically adjustable and substantially unyieldable support for a die,said die having a central member provided with a downwardly directedrecess, a pair of side members disposed respectively at opposite sidesof the central member, said side members having surfaces constitutingside walls for the recess, a plunger of a width substantially equallingthe normal width of the recess, actuating means for moving the plungerinto the recess, and means operative to hold the lining in tautcondition spanning the recess as the plunger enters the latter, therecess being of such depth relatively to the path of movement of theplunger that the latter never contacts the floor of the recess.

9. In combination in a machine for preshaping the heel end of thequarter lining of a shoe upper, said machine comprising a normally fixedunyielding support carrying a die, the die having a central memberprovided with a recess, and a pair of relatively yieldable side membersforming walls for the recess, supporting means at opposite sides of therecess collectively constituting a work support, a plunger movable intoand out of the recess, and work holding means operative to press thework forcibly against the work support as the plunger is advanced intothe recess, the Work support having a depression therein for thereception of an abnormally thick portion of the lining.

10. In combination in a machine for shaping a laterally seamed quarterlining for a shoe upper, said machine having a die including a memberprovided with a recess, the top and one side at least of said recessbeing open, a closure memher for the open side of the recess, resilientmeans normally urging the closure member toward the recess, a plungeroperative to force the material into the recess thereby to stretch thelining and to produce a permanent bulge therein, and gripping meansoperative to hold the material to be shaped in taut condition spanningthe recess, said gripping means having opposed surfaces, one at least ofwhich is provided with a channel for the reception of the seam ridge inthe lining.

11. A machine for preshaping a part of a shoe upper, said machinecomprising a die having a recess therein, a heated plunger movable intosaid recess to force shoe upper material spanning the recess into therecess, thereby to stretch and bulge the material, actuating meansoperative to move the plunger into the recess, and work holding meanscomprising a part moving in timed relation to the plunger and in advanceof the latter operative to engage the material and to hold it undertension as the plunger enters the recess, said work holding meanscomprising a part having a channel therein for the reception of anabnormally thick portion of the lining.

12. Method of making shoes which comprises as steps preparing a quarterlining by seaming together two complemental, substantially flat partshaving straight overlapping edges by a substantially straight seamdisposed to one side of the central line of the heel portion of thelining, and subjecting the seamed lining prior to lasting, to pressureso applied as to stretch and permanently bulge the material and toconform it substantially to the contour of the heel end of a shoe last.

FREDERICK S. GLINES.

